≈ 2 hours and 20 minutes · With intermission
Last updated: December 6, 2019
Program
PART ONE
Sinfonia (Grave — Allegro moderato)
Accompagnato (Tenor) Comfort ye, my people
Air (Tenor) Ev’ry valley shall be exalted
Chorus And the Glory of the Lord
Accompagnato (Bass) Thus saith the Lord
Air (Alto) But who may abide the day
Chorus And He shall purify
Recitative (Alto) Behold, a virgin shall conceive
Air (Alto) & Chorus O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion
Accompagnato (Bass) For behold, darkness shall cover the earth
Air (Bass) The people that walked in darkness
Chorus For unto us a Child is born
Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)
Recitative (Soprano) There were shepherds abiding
Accompagnato (Soprano) And lo, the angel of the Lord
Recitative (Soprano) And the angel said unto them
Accompagnato (Soprano) And suddenly, there was with the angel
Chorus Glory to God in the Highest
Air (Soprano) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
Recitative (Alto) Then shall the eyes of the blind be open’d
Air (Alto & Soprano) He shall feed His flock
Chorus His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light
- - - INTERMISSION - - -
PART TWO
Chorus Behold the Lamb of God
Air (Alto) He was despised
Chorus Surely He hath borne our griefs
Chorus And with His stripes we are healed
Chorus All we like sheep have gone astray
Accompagnato (Tenor) All they that see Him
Chorus He trusted in God
Accompagnato (Tenor) Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
Arioso (Tenor) Behold, and see if there be any sorrow
Accompagnato (Tenor) He was cut off out of the land of the living
Air (Teno) But Thou didst not leave His soul in Hell
Chorus Lift up your heads, O ye gates
Air (Soprano) How beautiful are the feet
Air (Bass) Why do the nations so furiously rage
Chorus Let us break their bonds asunder
Recitative/Récitatif (Tenor) He that dwelleth in Heaven
Air (Tenor) Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron
Chorus Hallelujah
PART THREE
Air (Soprano) I know that my Redeemer liveth
Chorus Since by man came death
Accompagnato (Bass) Behold, I tell you a mystery
Air (Bass) The trumpet shall sound
Chorus Worthy is the Lamb – Amen
Led by Mario Bernardi, the NAC Orchestra first performed Messiah in December 1970 with soloists Pauline Tinsley (soprano), Maureen Forrester (mezzo-soprano), Seth McCoy (tenor) and Donald Bell (bass-baritone). The Orchestra has performed it almost every December since then.
All of the soloists for tonight’s concert are appearing with the NAC Orchestra for the first time.
Chorus
La Chapelle de Québec
Esther Gonthier & Anne-Marie Bernard, Rehearsal Pianists
Soprano
Odéi Bilodeau
Lesley Bouza
Sheila Dietrich
Cynthia Gates
Rosalie Lane-Lépine
Marie Magistry
Stephanie Manias
Wanda Procyshyn
Carole Therrien
Alto
Marie-Annick Béliveau
Charlotte Cumberbirch
Marie-Josée Goyette
Josée Lalonde
Claudia Lemcke
Marie-Andrée Mathieu
Gena van Oosten
Heather Lynn Smith
Rachèle Tremblay-Pelletier
Tenor
Bernard Cayouette
Richard Duguay
Marcel De Hêtre
Aldéo Jean
Dominique Gagné
Joé Lamprin-Dandonneau
Patrick McGill
Arthur Tanguay-Labrosse
Bass
Pierre-Étienne Bergeron
John Giffen
Robert Huard
Emanuel Lebel
Bernard Levasseur
Normand Richard
Yves Saint-Amant
Josh Whelan
Repertoire
Messiah, HWV 56
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Born in Halle, February 23, 1685
Died in London, April 14, 1759
“Handel’s Messiah is more than a piece of music; it is a monument of Western civilization which has, across the two and a half centuries since it was written, acquired the status of a myth.” These words of the British critic and historian Nicholas Kenyon suitably summarize the view of Messiah in the West, for few works in the entire history of music have engendered such widespread appeal through inspirational beauty. If “the characterizing trait of all authentic masterpieces is their capacity for infinite self-renewal,” as critic Lawrence Gilman once observed, then Messiah rests securely fixed as a gleaming star in the firmament of masterpieces. Surely it represents the single best-known and most often performed example of oratorio.
Messiah’s continuing overwhelming popularity, which extends back to Handel’s own time, would have surprised its creator. He regarded himself first and foremost as a dramatic composer, which meant a writer of operas, and it is chiefly for opera that he would expect to be remembered today. For over two decades, Handel was lionized as the greatest of English composers (despite his German birth and Italian training), and Londoners flocked to see his forty-plus operas produced between 1711 (the year of his arrival in London) and the late 1730s. But the fickle public grew tired of opera, and by the mid-thirties it was finished as a popular draw. Something new was needed to attract the public, something perhaps uniquely English.
Handel rose to the occasion by creating the English oratorio, beginning with Esther in 1732 and continuing over the next quarter century with 22 more. These works used English (not Italian) texts, and drew their subject matter mostly from Old Testament stories, with which the English particularly identified. The oratorio as Handel fashioned it was essentially an unstaged drama employing all the same musico-dramatic ingredients of opera: recitative, arioso, aria, solo ensemble, chorus, and dramatic characterizations, but without the trappings of sets, costumes and physical movement. Additionally, the role of the chorus was raised to far greater importance in oratorio.
The idea for Messiah (Handel’s autograph manuscript bears no article) came from Charles Jennens, a musical amateur and something of a literary figure, with whom Handel had worked on other choral works. Drawing nearly all his texts from Old Testament sources (principally the Authorized English Bible of 1611), Jennens fashioned a meditative framework in which the whole of Christ’s life and work is laid out: the prophecies of His coming, His birth and the subsequent rejoicing, His life, the Passion, Resurrection and hope for His Second Coming.
The first performance of Messiah took place on April 13, 1742 at Neale’s Music Hall in Dublin. It was a stunning success, but subsequent performances in London during the next few years met with cool reception. Then, in 1750, it caught on, and from that year its popularity never slackened. Handel died nine years later, eight days after his last public appearance at a Messiah performance. But Messiah continued to live, to grow, in fact, to assume monstrous proportions.
The concept of Messiah as musical myth, as something larger than life, took hold at the first great Handel Commemoration in 1784, where the chorus numbered 275, the largest choral force ever assembled for a single performance to date (most performances in Handel’s lifetime employed a chorus of about twenty), and an orchestra of 250 assisted. The inflation continued throughout the nineteenth century. In 1843, the Musical Examiner asked, “Who ever heard of a choir too large for Handel?” Apparently few had, for in 1857, Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society gave a performance with somewhere between 600 and 700 voices. Two years later, at the Great Handel Commemoration Festival marking the centenary of the composer’s death, we find a chorus of 2,765 and an orchestra of 460. For Boston’s Grand National Celebration of Peace in 1869, the “Hallelujah Chorus” was performed by a staggering force of 10,000 voices and 500 instrumentalists.
Now the pendulum has swung again in the opposite direction. Over the past several decades, modern scholarship has emphasized the relative paucity of performing forces in Handel’s day, and there have been numerous recordings and live performances that adhere to one or another versions of a score that Handel used. However, it is appropriate to remind ourselves at this point that there is no such thing as an “authentic” Messiah. Nor can we speak of a “definitive” version or a “complete” version. Right from the date of completion of the score in September 1741, until Handel’s death 18 years later, the composer constantly revised, altered and modified Messiah in accordance with the exigencies of individual performances. These changes took the form of transposing numbers to suit the range of the vocal soloists, omitting numbers entirely if they proved too difficult, abridging them if time were a factor, rearranging them for reasons of pacing, inserting additional material, inflating the choir, incorporating extra orchestral instruments, and so forth, much as a Broadway show today is subjected to the same process.
Like other Handel oratorios, Messiah is divided into three parts. Part I tells of the coming of Christ as related in Old Testament prophecies. His birth is announced, again in Old Testament scripture (“For unto us a Child is born”), and an angel tells shepherds in the fields the good tidings. Peace on earth and the redemption of humankind are at hand.
Part II speaks of the Passion, Resurrection (again, almost entirely through Old Testament prophecy) and the spread of the gospel. The great vision of Christ’s triumph and glory is revealed in the concluding “Hallelujah Chorus” to words from the book of Revelation.
The theme of Part III is announced by the soprano’s words, “My Redeemer liveth… and shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” – an expression of faith in redemption and rebirth symbolized in the view of Christ’s Second Coming. Messiah’s final vision, in a setting of unsurpassed musical grandeur, is that of Christ, the Lamb of God, sitting on the throne in all eternity.
In conclusion, the words of former Cleveland Orchestra annotator Klaus G. Roy provide a fitting commentary on Messiah’s near-mythic role in our lives: “Handel’s Messiah seems to be, like nature itself, unchangeable yet ever-changing. It has been produced in versions almost too numerous to count, in abridgements, in expansions, in contemporary dress both stylish and styleless, in auditoriums acoustically perfect or ludicrously inappropriate, in little churches and in vast cathedrals. It has put up with presentations that observed the letter and lost the spirit and with many more that somehow found the spirit without observing more than a minimum of the letter. To some it has represented religion personified; to others, religious art, and to yet others, art. For some it has been made hateful by distortion, by overuse, by sheer boredom. For others it has been the one art work the regular ‘consumption’ of which was their primary contact with great music. And for still others who had avoided hearing it until – in their view – conditions were likely to be right, it has proved revelatory. All these things, and more, Messiah has been and continues to be. It takes a work of extraordinary substance to exert such perennial power over humankind.”
By Robert Markow
Artists
Bernard Labadie has established himself worldwide as one of the preeminent conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire, a reputation closely tied to his work with Les Violons du Roy (for which he served as Music Director from its inception until 2014) and La Chapelle de Québec. With these two ensembles, he has regularly toured Canada, the U.S., and Europe in major venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, the Barbican, the Concertgebouw, and the Salzburg Festival, among others. He began a four-year term as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in the 2018–19 season.
Labadie has become a regular presence on the podiums of the major North American orchestras, including the Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Boston, Colorado, Houston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, the Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, the Los Angeles and New York philharmonics, the Handel & Haydn Society, and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. International audiences in past seasons have seen and heard him conduct the Bayerischen Rundfunks Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the BBC Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Collegium Vocale Ghent, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester (Cologne), and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
His extensive discography includes many critically acclaimed recordings on the Dorian, ATMA, and Virgin Classics labels, including Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and a collaborative recording of Mozart’s Requiem with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, both of which received a Canadian Juno Award. Other recordings include C.P.E. Bach’s complete cello concertos with Truls Mørk and Les Violons du Roy, and J.S. Bach’s complete piano concertos with Alexandre Tharaud, both on Virgin Classics, and Haydn’s piano concertos with Marc-Andre Hamelin as soloist, released by Hyperion. Bernard Labadie has received Paris’s Samuel de Champlain award, the Canadian government’s Officer of the Order of Canada, and his home province has named him Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec.
La Chapelle de Québec, founded by Bernard Labadie in 1985, is a nationally based chamber choir of professional singers recruited mainly in Québec City, but also throughout Québec and Canada. It assembles for two or three concerts each season to join Les Violons du Roy in major works from the repertory for choir and orchestra, especially from the 18th century. Its performances of cantatas, oratorios, and masses by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Haydn have been acclaimed throughout Canada and the United States, thanks to many broadcasts by Radio-Canada, the CBC, and NPR in the United States.
La Chapelle de Québec has performed regularly on tour with Les Violons du Roy, notably in Handel’s Messiah and J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Toronto, in an all-Vivaldi program in France, and in Mozart’s Requiem in Toronto and the United States. The choir is often asked to appear with Bernard Labadie in the concerts he conducts with U.S. orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it performed Handel’s Messiah in 2004 and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in 2006.
La Chapelle de Québec won a Juno Award for its recording of Mozart’s Requiem, released by Dorian in 2002.
Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.
Since taking the helm in 2015, Shelley has shaped the Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons. Shelley’s influence extends beyond the NAC. He serves as Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the U.K. and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley’s leadership is complemented by Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds, an internationally renowned conductor and violinist who has led some of the world’s finest ensembles, and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, known for creating innovative and engaging community programming. In 2024, the Orchestra marked a new chapter with the appointment of Henry Kennedy as its first-ever Resident Conductor.
The Orchestra has a rich history of partnerships with renowned artists such as James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen and Yeol Eum Son, underscoring its reputation as a destination for world-class talent. As one of the most accessible, inclusive and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
A hallmark of the NAC Orchestra is its national and international tours. The Orchestra has performed concerts in every Canadian province and territory and earned frequent invitations to perform abroad. These tours spotlight Canadian composers and artists, bringing their voices to stages across North America, the U.K., Europe, and Asia.
The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 new works it has commissioned. These include:
- The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra
- Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero
- The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes "My Name is Amanda Todd" by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year)
- Ana Sokolović’s "Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes," 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds)
- The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre
- Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos
The NAC Orchestra’s Learning and Community Engagement initiatives are rooted in creating inclusive and accessible programs for audiences in the National Capital Region and across Canada. These initiatives include family-focused performances, Music Circle workshops specifically designed for individuals on the autism spectrum, and sensory-friendly concerts. Additionally, the Orchestra offers exceptional programming for students, teachers, and learners of all ages, including matinee performances, open rehearsals, instrumental workshops, and digital resources, ensuring that arts learning and engagement in music remain a priority for young audiences and the broader community. The Orchestra’s annual Mentorship Program brings 50 early-career orchestral musicians from around the world to participate in a three-week professional development experience with the world-class NAC Orchestra. Through these efforts, the NAC Orchestra continues to foster meaningful connections with diverse audiences, making music a shared and inclusive experience.
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